"Traveling and Retired"

Month: July 2015

The Annie Oakely Festival took place last weekend. This theme festival is held near Greenville, Ohio, the home of the famed markswoman. It seemed fitting that the Ohio Fast Draw Association International held one of their competition shoots at the festival.

Sher and I had an absolute ball at the Luther Logging Days festival in Luther, Michigan. The festival ran the week of July 4th. We heard about this festival from a fellow vendor who was kind enough to give us the information for registration so we could set up and sell our wares.

Luther is a very small town (population 310) and is in the heart of logging and outdoor recreation country. The festival took place on the one main street in town, and we set up our selling space right next to the curb.

This festival was really fun. Sometimes when we are set up and selling we don’t get to share in the festivities. Not so at Luther: most of the activities took place near or in front of our booth space! There were bands, games for young and old alike and a wonderful parade on July 4th.

This was our set up

AM VET bikers in the parade

The people of Luther were very friendly and enjoy life to the fullest. Young and old alike really know how to have a good time.

We went back to MattressInsider.com when we wanted to replace the mattress that came with our Thor Four Winds 22E motorhome. This Class C motorhome was the replacement for the travel trailer that we had when we hit the road last summer. The mattress we bought from MattressInsider for the travel trailer did not fit in our new Thor. As is normally the case, the mattress that came with the RV was, ah, not the best. Even though it was called an RV Premium mattress it did not take too long for it to break down and become nothing more than a source of bad night’s sleep and backaches.

Our new mattress in place and ready!

So back to MattressInsider. Once again the folks there were great to work with. This time I needed a custom made mattress to fit the shape of our bed: the corner of it was “cut off” to make room for the bathroom door to open. Simple to draw a sketch with the dimensions and email it to the MattressInsider staff.

Once agan we ordered an 8″ thick coil spring mattress. (See our original review of our first mattress here.) The additional cost for the custom design was only $20 for the one we ordered. This was a nice surprise as I expected a higher cost for a custom made mattress.

This is the style mattress that we purchased

The sales staff once again did a great job with our order. I sent in the sketch with the dimensions of the mattress I needed, firmed up the order and our mattress arrived in about ten days. Great service! The mattress was rolled up into a box about the size of a thirty gallon barrel that weighed in at 68 lbs. (Shipping was free by the way.) We simply unpacked the mattress, let it unroll and let it do its expanding thing for about three hours. Then it was ready for use.

Let me tell you, these coil spring mattresses are great to sleep on! Back aches are gone and Sher and I both are getting a great night’s sleep. Need a new mattress for your RV? Browse the Mattress Insider website and/or call them at 1-888-488-1468 and talk with them. You will not be disappointed with what you hear.

We found a marvelous campground in the middle of northwestern Michigan after we had finished a large festival nearby. The Best Bear Lodge and Campground is a work in progress that is already gaining a reputation as a favorite spot to stay. Nestled on ten acres of beautiful woodland, this resort is located south of Travis City and north of Baldwin.

Right now there are seven pull through water/electric sites, tent camping, one cabin and a four room lodge/motel. The cabin has two sets of bunk beds, TV, fridge and coffee pot. Bring your own linens to the cabin. The lodge rooms are outfitted with full kitchens, bath, TV and includes daily room service. The TV service is satellite with 200 channels. Seperate rest rooms are sparkling clean as are the coin operated showers.

Our home for a few days

A beautiful setting

That is the overview. Here is the scoop: This place is one of the most peaceful, beautiful and nice parks you will ever find. The pull through sites offer plenty of room to run out your slides and/or awning. Between the sites there is a buffer with native oak, pine and other foliage giving the sense of privacy so often missing at most RV parks. Free pumpouts let you leave your sewer hose stowed. Bagged ice and cheap firewood is available.

We used our Verizon Jetpack for internet hookup. It went in and out, as did our phone service. This is not a good Verizon service area. The campground offers an ATT jetpack rental for a strong internet connection if you so desire.

Owners Carrie and Matt Bearup are just delightful hosts. They make you feel like family and will do anything to make your stay more comfortable. They know the area and can provide all you need to know about the hiking, ATV and snowmobile trails of the area. This area of the state is famous for the year round recreation opportunities.

The lodge building

The 1st of the cabins

Additional lodge rooms, cabins and RV sites are planned and will include 28 pulll through sites. The pads will be grass with paved roads for easy access to large rigs with towed vehicles or trailers. Right now the newly cleared and level sites are dirt as is the road. The sandy soil is well drained so mud is not a problem.

The $25 rate for an RV site is very reasonable and the best in the area. Be sure to visit the Best Bear Lodge website for all the information about this great campground. We will be back.